Peeling apparatus having feeder control based upon load and associated methods

ABSTRACT

A peeling apparatus includes a set of abrasive rollers, at least one roller drive motor, a feeder for controllably feeding fruit or vegetables adjacent the abrasive rollers, at least one sensor associated with at least one roller drive motor for sensing a load thereon, and a controller for controlling the feeder based upon a sensed load. The controller may increase the feed rate based upon an increase in sensed load, and decrease the feed rate of the auger based upon a decrease in sensed load. The at least one roller drive motor may be a hydraulic or electric motor.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/576,924 filed on May 23, 2000, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of food processing, and moreparticularly, to apparatus and methods for peeling vegetables andfruits.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is common in many food processing applications to require the peelingof the outer skin of fruits or vegetables. Potatoes, in particular, arevery often so processed by passing the potatoes against a set ofrotating abrasive rollers. Fruit may also be similarly processed. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,798 to Boswell discloses a citrus fruitpeeler including a pair of abrading rollers and an auger screw whichadvances the citrus along the rollers.

Along these lines, U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,914 to Wallace discloses a singlechamber fruit and vegetable peeler including a frame, a plurality ofabrasive roller carried by the frame and arranged in an arcuate pattern,and a drive motor and gears coupled to the rollers. The abrasive rollersare provided in lengthwise segments to facilitate replacement of adamaged section without requiring replacement of an entire roller.Action of the rollers advances the fruit or vegetables from an intake toa discharge. A rinsing system is provided to wash material from therollers. The vegetables or fruit are subjected to a tumbling actionwithin the peeling chamber. The amount of peeling is controlled by aheight of a gate at the discharge.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,305 to Vanosdall discloses a similar apparatuswherein an auger extends only partway into the chamber from thedischarge. U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,429 also to Wallace discloses a similarapparatus which includes an auger at a feed hopper, and a rotatabletumbler including rotating paddles within the peeling chamber. Thispatent also discloses a vision analysis system to evaluate the degree ofpeeling and adjust the various parameters to provide a desired degree ofpeeling.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,782 to Bichel and U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,836 to Neidighdisclose peeling apparatus wherein the abrasive rollers are driven byindividual hydraulic motors. U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,088 to Zittel disclosesa peeler that includes individual electric motors to drive each roller.The rollers can be operated at different speeds or in differentdirections. An auger which extends through the peeling chamber, may alsobe controlled by an electric motor.

To increase capacity, a dual peeling or washing chamber apparatus wasoffered by Vanmark Corporation under the model designation Series 2800.The apparatus included two side-by-side chambers wherein the augersrotated in a same direction. Accordingly, the abrasive rollers and theirassociated motors extended around an arc further upward on a same side.

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to manually control the variousoperating parameters of a typical peeling apparatus to obtain consistentresults. This may be so particularly where the feed rate is difficult tocontrol and/or the fruit or vegetables vary in size, shape and skinthickness. Vision-based feedback control systems may be relativelyexpensive and complicated to adjust for correct and consistentoperation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of theinvention to provide a peeling apparatus and associated methods whichprovide for efficient and effective control of the peeling operation.

This and other objects, features and advantages in accordance with thepresent invention are provided by a peeling apparatus comprising a setof abrasive rollers, at least one roller drive motor, a feeder forcontrollably feeding fruit or vegetables adjacent the abrasive rollers,at least one sensor associated with at least one roller drive motor forsensing a load thereon, and a controller for controlling the feederbased upon the at least one sensor. Accordingly, the feeder can becontrolled based upon the sensed load on the abrasive rollers.

The controller may increase the feed rate of the feeder based upon anincrease in sensed load, and conversely decrease the feed rate basedupon a decrease in sensed load. In some embodiments, the controller mayalso control at least one roller drive motor of the set based upon thesensed load. The invention provides a relatively straightforward, robustand cost effective approach to control important peeling parameters.

The feeder may comprise an input conveyor upstream of the set ofabrasive rollers. In addition to or in place of the input conveyor, thefeeder may include an auger adjacent the set of abrasive rollers. Also,the feeder may include at least one of an intake gate and a dischargegate, with or without the input conveyor and/or auger.

The at least one sensor may comprise a torque sensor for sensing atorque delivered by the at least one roller drive motor. The rollerdrive motor may be a hydraulic motor, and the sensor may sense hydraulicpressure.

In one particularly advantageous class of embodiments, the at least oneroller drive motor may comprise at least one roller drive electricmotor. Accordingly, the at least one torque sensor may thus comprise atleast one electrical power sensor.

In some embodiments, the at least one roller drive electric motor maycomprise a respective roller drive electric motor for each abrasiveroller. In these embodiments, the load on only one or more motors forthe lower abrasive rollers may need to be sensed.

A method aspect of the invention is for operating a peeling apparatus ofa type comprising a set of abrasive rollers, at least one roller drivemotor, and a feeder. The method may comprise sensing a load on at leastone roller drive motor, and controlling a feed rate of the feeder basedupon the sensed load.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a peeling apparatus in accordance withthe invention.

FIG. 2 is an intake end view of the peeling apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a discharge end view of the peeling apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 4—4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the intake end of anabrasive roller, its flange bearing, removable mount and drive motor asused in the peeling apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged end view of a discharge portion of the peelingapparatus of FIG. 1 illustrating the flange bearings supporting thedischarge ends of the abrasive rollers.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the discharge end of aabrasive roller and its associated flange bearing as used in the peelingapparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an abrasive roller as may be used in thepeeling apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view taken along lines 9—9of FIG. 8 illustrating an individual knurl embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of control portions of the peelingapparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a more detailed schematic block diagram of the controlportions as shown in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments ofthe invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theillustrated embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-4 the peeling apparatus 20 in accordancewith the present invention is now described. The peeling apparatus 20may be part of an overall fruit or vegetable processing system 25 thatmay include other processing apparatus 21, 22 as schematicallyillustrated. In addition, these other processing apparatus 21, 22 mayalso be connected to a common plant cleaning solution system 23including a cleaning solution supply and associated interconnectingpiping. Similarly, these other processing apparatus 21, 22 may also beconnected to a common plant cleaning solution collection system 24including a drain, sump or collection vessel and interconnecting pipingas will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The peeling apparatus 20 may include the lower collection pan 29 and theoutlet port 31 in communication therewith which define the cleaningsolution collection system for the peeling apparatus, and which may becoupled to the common plant cleaning solution collection system 24. Ofcourse, the cleaning solution from the peeling apparatus 20 may also berecycled and used again for cleaning the peeler and/or any of the otherprocessing apparatus 21, 22. Also the cleaning solution from the commonplant cleaning solution delivery system 23 may be distributed or sprayedon interior portions of the peeling apparatus 20 using the schematicallyillustrated nozzles 35 (FIG. 4).

The peeling apparatus 25 illustratively includes two generallyhorizontally extending, side-by-side peeling chambers 26 a, 26 b, butmany of the features and components thereof may also be used in a singlepeeling chamber apparatus, and/or in a peeling apparatus arranged at anangle other than horizontal as will be readily appreciated by thoseskilled in the art. The peeling apparatus 20 is also illustratively fedfruit or vegetables from one or more upstream devices, schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 1 by the fruit/vegetable supply 27. In addition, thepeeling apparatus 20 also includes a controller 28 connected to thevarious motors and other equipment as will be described in greaterdetail below.

The peeling apparatus 20 may be used for many peeling operations to beperformed typically on fruit or vegetables. For example, the peelingapparatus 20 may be used to extract oil from the peels of citrus fruitas disclosed in parent U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/576,924 filedon May 23, 2000, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated hereinby reference. Of course, the peeling apparatus 20 may be used forpeeling potatoes, and other fruit and vegetables as will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art.

The peeling apparatus 20 illustratively includes a frame 30 whichcarries the first and second peeling chambers 26 a, 26 b in side-by-siderelation. The first peeling chamber 26 a includes a first set ofabrasive rollers 32 a and a first auger 33 a adjacent thereto.Similarly, the second peeling chamber 26 comprises a second set ofabrasive rollers 32 b and a second auger 33 b adjacent thereto. Eachauger 33 a, 33 b has a respective electric drive motor 34 a, 34 bconnected thereto. Of course, a discharge opening 37 a, 37 b is providedat the discharge end of each peeling chamber 26 a, 26 b as shown perhapsbest in FIGS. 1 and 4. The discharge openings 37 are illustrativelyarcuate in shape and offset to the respective outer sides. A commonintake opening 39 (FIG. 2) is provided at the intake end to receive thefruit or vegetables therein.

In accordance with one aspect of the peeling apparatus 20, the first andsecond augers 33 a, 33 b include respective helical flights oriented inopposite helical directions. The drive motors 34 a, 34 b drive the firstand second augers 33 a, 33 b in opposite rotational directions. In otherwords, the drive motors 341, 34 b define a drive for the augers 33 a, 33b. The fruit or vegetables in each peeling chamber 26 a, 26 b isadvanced in parallel from the intake to the discharge end of the peelingapparatus 20.

The first set of abrasive rollers 32 a are aligned along a first arc,and the second set of abrasive rollers 32 b are aligned along a secondarc being a mirror image of the first arc. Moreover, the first andsecond arcs each extend higher along outsides of the peeling apparatus20. This may be accommodated since rotation of the augers 33 a, 33 btends to cause the fruit to ride up toward the outside as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art. This arrangement of rollersprovides a number of advantages, particularly in that more rollers areaccessible from the exterior of the peeling apparatus 20, rather thanbeing positioned on the less accessible interior as will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art.

Another aspect of the peeling apparatus 20 is that the number ofabrasive rollers 32 a, 32 b in each of the first and second sets may begreater than eight. In the illustrated embodiment, twelve rollers areprovided in each set. A combined or total number of abrasive rollers 32a, 32 b in both of the first and second sets is also preferably greaterthan sixteen. In the illustrated peeling apparatus 20 the total numberof rollers is twenty-four. The larger number of rollers may provide agreater throughput in a smaller machine footprint. Accordingly, thepeeling apparatus 20 may be installed or retrofitted into a relativelysmall space.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 2 and additionally to FIG. 5,other advantageous features of the peeling apparatus 20 are nowdescribed. In particular, each peeling chamber 26 a, 26 b illustrativelyincludes a set of motors 40 a, 40 b and associated mounts 41 a, 41 b forthe abrasive rollers. These motors 40 a, 40 b and mounts 41 a, 41 b areillustratively carried by the intake end, accordingly, the fruit orvegetables can more readily pass out of the discharge openingsunencumbered by the motors and mounts as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art.

For clarity of explanation, only a single motor 40 a, mount 41 a, andintake end of a roller 32 a will now be described, although those ofskill in the art will appreciate that this configuration may beduplicated for all of the rollers in both peeling chambers 26 a, 26 b.More particularly, the frame 30 includes a roller opening 45 a adjacentthe intake end. The roller opening 45 a may be an arcuately shapedslotted opening for the set of rollers as in the illustrated embodiment,or individual openings could be provided for each roller as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art. The mount 41 a is alsoconnected to the intake end adjacent the roller opening 45 a, and thismount carries the intake end of the abrasive roller 32 a as well as themotor 40 a.

The mount 41 a permits the abrasive roller 32 a to be installable orremovable through the roller opening 45 a upon removal of the mount 41 afrom the frame 30. The mount 41 a also permits the roller drive motor 40a to be separately removed, such as for service or replacement.

The abrasive roller 32 a illustratively comprises an elongate bodyportion 60 a having an abrasive outer surface as will be described ingreater detail below, and an intake mounting stub 61 a and a dischargemounting stub 62 a (FIG. 7) permanently affixed to respective opposingends of elongate body portion. Each mounting stub may include a bodyportion received within an open end of the elongate body portion 60 a,and may also include an integrally formed shaft extending outwardlytherefrom. Other similar constructions are also possible.

The mounting stubs 61 a, 62 a are preferably permanently affixed to theends of the elongate body portion 60 a to provide for higher rotationalspeeds with less vibration and resonance as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art. For example, in those embodiments where the elongatebody portion 60 a of the abrasive roller 32 a comprises metal, such assteel or aluminum, the mounting stubs 61 a, 62 a may be permanentlyaffixed by welding, although similar techniques are also contemplated bythe present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment, the mount 41 a illustratively includes abase plate 46 a covering overlying the opening 45 a and secured to theframe 30. A flange bearing 47 a is carried by the base plate 46 a androtatably supports the intake mounting stub 61 a at the end of theabrasive roller 32 a. The mount 41 a also illustratively includes themotor standoff 50 a also carried by the base plate 46 a and which iscoaxial with the end of the mounting stub 61 a and output shaft 53 a ofthe motor 40 a. The output shaft 53 a of the motor 40 a is connected tothe end of the mounting stub 61 a via a flexible coupling 51 a which mayalso permit higher rotational speeds for the abrasive roller 32 a byreducing vibration.

The schematically illustrated motor 40 a may include an electric orhydraulic actuator directly coupled to the output shaft 53 a, or anintervening gearbox may be provided to produce a desired rotationalspeed of the abrasive roller 32 a as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art. The motor 40 a is illustratively connected to amotor mounting plate 52 a which, in turn, is carried by the end of themotor standoff 50 a. Other equivalent mounting arrangements are alsocontemplated by the invention. In some alternate embodiments, theindividual motors may be replaced by a common motor and associated drivetrain for driving the sets of rollers.

As perhaps best seen with reference to FIG. 2, the mounts 41 a, 41 b,and, more particularly, the base plates thereof, may have a trapezoidalshape. Accordingly, when the mounts 41 a, 41 b are arranged inside-by-side relation, the mounts define an arc.

Turning now additionally to FIGS. 6 and 7, another advantageous aspectof the peeling apparatus 20 is described. More particularly, respectivesets of flange bearings 70 a, 70 b are provided at the discharge end ofthe peeling apparatus for each of the peeling chambers 26 a, 26 b. Eachflange bearing 70 a is illustratively provided by a flange bearinghaving a generally oval footprint with first and second fasteneropenings adjacent opposing ends of the footprint and which, in turn,receive respective first and second fasteners 72 a to secure the flangebearing in place. The flange bearing 70 a of the mount 41 a rotatablysupports the discharge mounting stub 62 a of the abrasive roller 32 a.

Moreover, as best seen in FIG. 7, each flange bearing 70 a with itsgenerally oval footprint may be readily canted at an angle and nestedinto an adjacent flange bearing. In contrast, pillow block bearings, forexample, may be difficult to accurately position and may take upadditional space. Accordingly, the flange bearings 70 a, 70 b of thepeeling apparatus 20 provide a very compact arrangement adjacent thedischarge openings 37 a, 37 b so that the fruit or vegetables may beeasily discharged therefrom.

Referring now additionally to FIGS. 8 and 9 other aspects relating tothe abrasive roller 32 a of the peeling apparatus 20 are furtherdescribed. The abrasive roller 32 a includes an elongate body portion 60a, preferably in the form of an elongate tube to thereby reduce overallweight. The tubular shape may be readily and accurately formed byprecision centerless grinding techniques as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art.

Mounting stubs 61 a, 62 a are preferably welded to opposing ends of thetubular elongate body portion 60 a as described above, and an abrasivesurface is formed on the outer surface portion of the elongate bodyportion. The abrasive outer surface may be manufactured by pressing theouter roller surface against a shaping or die surface to form a patternof knurls, similar to a #10TPI knurl. In other words, the knurls may beintegrally formed into the surface of the elongate body portion 60 a.

A cross-section of one such knurl 75 a is shown in FIG. 9. Theillustrated knurl 75 a may define a peak height of about 0.050 incheswith a tolerance of about +0.00 and −0.020 inches. The abrasive roller32 a may have a diameter of about 3.9 to 4.0 inches, although othersizes are also possible. Moreover, the knurl 75 a may have a leadingedge portion 76 a that is steeper than the adjacent trailing edgeportion 77 a. For example, the leading edge portion 76 a may define anangle α of about a thirty degrees from a line normal to the surface.Also, the trailing edge portion 77 a may define an angle β of aboutsixty degrees from a line normal to the surface. Other angles are alsopossible. The steeper angle of the leading edge portion 76 a may providean extended wear life, and reduce the need for maintenance. In someembodiments, all of the knurls may have a same shape, although otherembodiments may benefit from different shaped knurls.

To further provide increased wear resistance for the knurl 75 a awear-resistant surface coating 80 a may be applied to cover the basemetal of the elongate body portion 60 a. For example, the elongate bodyportion 60 a may comprise steel or aluminum, and the surface coating 80a may comprise cobalt, chromium, tungsten, nickel, or alloys thereof.For example, Stellite® may be used as the coating 80 a and it is analloy family containing cobalt, chromium, tungsten and other elements aswill be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.

In other embodiments, the base metal of the abrasive roller 32 a may notrequire a coating. For example, stainless steel may not require aprotective coating. To reduce overall costs, in one preferredembodiment, a mild steel base metal may be combined with the protectivecoating 80 a as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Turning now additionally to the schematic diagrams of FIGS. 10-11,various control aspects of the peeling apparatus 20 are now described.In particular, the peeling apparatus 20 includes a set of abrasiverollers 32 a arranged to define a peeling chamber 26 a, and roller drivemotors 40 a as explained in detail above. A feeder 85 a is provided forcontrollably feeding fruit or vegetables adjacent the abrasive rollers.A sensor 86 a is associated with at least one roller drive motor 40 afor sensing a load thereon. For example, the sensor 86 a may beassociated with one or more lower rollers to more accurately sense theload, although sensors may be provided for all of the motors as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art. The controller 28 isillustratively connected to the sensor 86 a and feeder 85 ab forcontrolling the feeder based upon the sensor. Accordingly, the feeder 85a can be controlled based upon the sensed load on the abrasive roller 32a.

For example, for typical operation, the controller 28 may increase thefeed rate of the feeder 85 a based upon an increase in sensed load, andconversely decrease the feed rate based upon a decrease in sensed load.In some embodiments, the controller 28 may also control one more of theroller drive motors 40 a based upon the sensed load. This aspect of thepeeling apparatus 20 provides a relatively straightforward, robust andcost effective approach to control important peeling parameters.

As understood with particular reference to FIG. 11, the feeder 85 b maycomprise an input conveyor 90 a upstream of the set of abrasive rollers.In addition to or in place of the input conveyor 90 a, the feeder mayinclude the auger 33 a adjacent the set of abrasive rollers. Also, thefeeder 85 a may include at least one of an intake gate 91 a and adischarge gate 92 a, and with or without the input conveyor and/orauger. Those of skill in the art will recognize other feederconfigurations that are controllable in accordance with this aspect ofthe peeling apparatus 20.

The sensor 86 a may comprise a torque sensor for sensing a torquedelivered by the roller drive motor 40 a. In one class of embodiments,the roller drive motor 40 a may be a hydraulic motor 95 a, and thesensor 86 a may be a hydraulic pressure sensor 96 a. In one particularlyadvantageous class of embodiments, the roller drive motor 40 a maycomprise a roller drive electric motor 94 a. Accordingly, for this classof embodiments, the torque sensor may thus comprise an electrical powersensor 97 a.

The controller 28 itself may include a processor 100 a and variousinput/output devices 101 a connected thereto. For example, theinput/output devices 110 a may include an operator CRT display or otherindicators, as well as a keyboard or other input devices as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art. Of course, the controller 28may provide a range of from full automatic to full manual control aswill also be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In addition, otherfeatures relating to the apparatus and method for peeling vegetables andfruit are disclosed in copending patent applications filed concurrentlyherewith and assigned to the assignee of the present invention and areentitled PEELING APPARATUS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS, Ser. No. 09/842,356;and PEELING APPARATUS WITH ENHANCED ABRASIVE ROLLERS AND ASSOCIATEDMETHODS, Ser. No. 09/842,263, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tothe mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachingspresented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.Accordingly, it is understood that the invention is not to be limited tothe embodiments disclosed, and that other modifications and embodimentsare intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A peeling apparatus comprising: a frame; aset of abrasive rollers carried by said frame; at least one roller drivemotor connected to said set of abrasive rollers; a feeder forcontrollably feeding fruit or vegetables adjacent said set of abrasiverollers; at least one sensor associated with said at least one rollerdrive motor for sensing a load thereon; and a controller for controllingsaid feeder based upon said at least one sensor.
 2. A peeling apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said feeder comprises an input conveyorupstream of said set of abrasive rollers.
 3. A peeling apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said feeder comprises an auger adjacentsaid set of abrasive rollers.
 4. A peeling apparatus according to claim1 wherein said feeder comprises at least one of an intake gate and adischarge gate.
 5. A peeling apparatus according to claim 1 wherein saidcontroller increases a feed rate of said feeder based upon an increasein sensed load, and decreases the feed rate of said feeder based upon adecrease in sensed load.
 6. A peeling apparatus according to claim 1wherein said controller also controls said at least one roller drivemotor based upon the sensed load.
 7. A peeling apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein said at least one sensor comprises a torque sensor forsensing a torque delivered by said at least one roller drive motor.
 8. Apeeling apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said at least one rollerdrive motor comprises at least one roller drive hydraulic motor; andwherein said at least one torque sensor comprises at least one hydraulicpressure sensor.
 9. A peeling apparatus according to claim 7 whereinsaid at least one roller drive motor comprises at least one roller driveelectric motor; and wherein said at least one torque sensor comprises atleast one electrical power sensor.
 10. A peeling apparatus according toclaim 9 wherein said at least one roller drive electric motor comprisesa respective roller drive electric motor for each abrasive roller.
 11. Apeeling apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said set of abrasiverollers are arranged along an arc and extend in a generally horizontaldirection; and wherein said at least one electrical power sensor isconnected to at least one roller drive electric motor for a respectiveat least one lower abrasive roller.
 12. A peeling apparatus comprising:a frame; a set of abrasive rollers carried by said frame; a set ofroller drive motors, each connected to a respective one of said set ofabrasive rollers; a feeder for controllably feeding fruit or vegetablesadjacent said set of abrasive rollers; at least one torque sensorassociated with at least one of said roller drive motors; and acontroller for controlling said feeder based upon said at least onetorque sensor.
 13. A peeling apparatus according to claim 12 whereinsaid feeder comprises an input conveyor upstream of said set of abrasiverollers.
 14. A peeling apparatus according to claim 12 wherein saidfeeder comprises an auger adjacent said set of abrasive rollers.
 15. Apeeling apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said feeder comprises atleast one of an intake gate and a discharge gate.
 16. A peelingapparatus according to claim 12 wherein said controller increases a feedrate of said feeder based upon an increase in sensed load, and decreasesthe feed rate of said feeder based upon a decrease in sensed load.
 17. Apeeling apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said controller alsocontrols at least one roller drive motor of said set thereof based uponthe sensed load.
 18. A peeling apparatus according to claim 12 whereinsaid at least one roller drive motor comprises at least one roller drivehydraulic motor; and wherein said at least one torque sensor comprisesat least one hydraulic pressure sensor.
 19. A peeling apparatusaccording to claim 12 wherein said at least one roller drive motorcomprises at least one roller drive electric motor; and wherein said atleast one torque sensor comprises at least one electrical power sensor.